US stock signals

Citi Research noted that US investors broadly agreed that China's Internet sector offered a very attractive opportunity in light of improving shareholder returns and earnings quality, as well as undemanding valuation.

AIA (01299.HK)  +3.300 (+6.111%)    Short selling $1.41B; Ratio 18.616%   announced that for 1Q24 ending March this year, its value of new business (VONB) reached a record quarterly high of US$1.327 billion, surging 31% YoY on constant exchange rate (CER) terms and 27% on actual exchange rate (AER) terms, with double-digit growth across all reportable segments.

JPY Index remained subdued this morning (29th). USD/ JPY once fell to 160.22, representing the first time since 1990 to sink below the 160 level. It last dropped 0.6% to 159.22. Meanwhile, JPY100/ HKD last stood at 4.89.

XIAOMI-W (01810.HK)  +0.060 (+0.346%)    Short selling $480.82M; Ratio 15.607%   's 10,000th mass-produced vehicle officially yanked off the assembly line 32 days after the release of the Xiaomi SU7, according to the Weibo account of Lei Jun, Chairman of XIAOMI-W.

Bloomberg reported that Tesla (TSLA.US)      will begin a mapping and navigation cooperation with BIDU-SW (09888.HK)  +2.400 (+2.379%)    Short selling $619.80M; Ratio 29.303%   . BIDU once surged 7% in the afternoon to $108, a two-month high. It trades now at $106.1, hiking 5.15%, with 10.2378 million shares traded, involving $1.058 billion.

BOCI noted in a report that New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU.US)      logged a 60% YoY hike in sales and a 60.3% YoY rise in non-GAAP operating profit in 3FQ24, but non-GAAP net profit elevated only 9.8% YoY during the quarter. Both sales and operating profit beat market expectations, but net profit slightly missed.

US GDP growth in 1Q was just 1.6%, far weaker than expected and logged the lowest growth level in nearly two years, while personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation remained high. The three major US stock indexes crashed early on Thursday, but the decline narrowed significantly in the afternoon.

According to Reuters, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen commented that China's overcapacity has been hurting manufacturers in many countries and threatening the US economy. The US would not rule out any countermeasures, including new tariffs.

The HSI soared 342 pts or 2% to 17,626 at midday; the HSCEI rose 147 pts or 2.4% to 6,267; and the HSTECH added 129 pts or 3.7% to 3,684. Half-day turnover totaled $72.402 billion.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xinhua News Agency reported. Xi said that 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S., in which the two countries have weathered stormy times.